Queen Elizabeth's Death Means Some Switch Gamers Will Miss A Nintendo Direct
Nintendo has confirmed that it will soon be hosting a full-fledged Nintendo Direct, complete with 40 minutes of exciting footage and full of teasers about upcoming games. Although all Nintendo Directs are broadcast worldwide at the same time, one country will have to do without — the United Kingdom. Because of the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Nintendo has decided to respect the period of national mourning that is being observed in the U.K. and forego sharing the stream live.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-ruling monarch in the United Kingdom, passed away on September 8, 2022. Following her death, a 10-day national mourning period has been instated, starting on Friday, September 9. As the country and many of its citizens grieve the loss of their Queen, many businesses have chosen to close or limit their working hours. Similarly, plenty of events are being rescheduled. Although the Nintendo Direct cannot be rescheduled completely — seeing as its a global event that is livestreamed in many countries simultaneously –Nintendo UK chose not to participate this year. The company shared the news on Twitter.
Nintendo UK
There is no legal obligation for organizers to cancel upcoming events due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but many are choosing to do so. Most sports matches and events have been postponed; London Fashion Week, set to take place between September 16 and September 20, has not been cancelled, but many designers called off their individual shows. The period of mourning will end on September 19, the day of the Queen's funeral. Seeing as the Nintendo Direct is set to take place in the middle of the mourning period, on September 13, it's no wonder that Nintendo chose to cancel the livestream.
You can still tune in to watch if you want to
This latest Nintendo Direct was expected — we reported on speculation of an announcement at the beginning of September, and it appears that the rumors were true. Nintendo of America shared on Twitter that the livestream will take place on September 13 at 7 a.m. PT. The company teased that we can expect to see "roughly 40 minutes of information mostly focused on Nintendo Switch games launching this winter." Nintendo UK will skip the livestream, but it will still share the footage after the event has ended, and it will be available on its YouTube channel starting from 4 p.m. U.K. time on September 13, so approximately an hour after the livestream begins. If you're in the U.K. but still want to watch the event live, meanwhile, you can do so by checking out the Nintendo of America stream here.
Early leaks have pointed toward new information about the Zelda franchise, with the possibility of two iconic games being ported to the Switch: "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker." Whether this checks out or not, we'll have to wait and see, but Zelda fans would undoubtedly also love a mention of the rumored "Breath of the Wild 2." There have also been rumors about possible "Metroid Prime" news.
Some of the other games expected to come out this year include "Bayonetta 3," "Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet," and "Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp." However, the Pokémon news might be a little scarce – Pokémon often gets its own Direct when there are big things to announce.